The 4-day workweek: 50 things we couldn't do without it

Feb 19, 2024

2 mins

The 4-day workweek: 50 things we couldn't do without it
authors
Matthieu Amaré

Coordinateur éditorial de Welcome to the Jungle France.

Clémence Lesacq Gosset

Senior Editor - SOCIETY @ Welcome to the Jungle

contributors

While thinking about whether or not the 4-day workweek is really a good idea, we decided to do what people do to make sure they don’t forget anything: make a list. So, here’s a list of everything we’ve been able to accomplish since putting in place a policy that gives us an extra day off once a week, just for us … People across all Welcome to the Jungle teams are joining in to share with you our 50 favorites.

  • Participate in all our kids’ field trips and be their hero

  • Go to the spa when no one else is around

  • Be the first to arrive during a sale

  • Get my license in record timing

  • Go to an art exhibit in the middle of the day

  • Learn a language without struggling through evening classes

  • Discover a passion for gardening

  • Watch my child’s soccer practices

  • Coach a junior soccer team

  • Go to the farmer’s market without the weekend crowds

  • Volunteer at a cat shelter

  • Take an entire day to pack a suitcase

  • Watch Friends reruns without feeling guilty

  • Enjoy regular long weekends

  • Go to the post office and actually take the time to chat with the people who work there

  • Take advantage of weekday discounts for local activities

  • Avoid shopping on the weekends

  • Drive through the city without rush hour traffic

  • Wait in line at Starbucks, the deli counter, then the bank, without getting annoyed

  • Never do housework on weekends again

  • Read David Foster Wallace’s _Infinite Jest _in its entirety

  • Sleep in. On a weekday

  • Go out. On a weeknight

  • Try out every machine at the gym - while taking all the time in the world

  • Finally get to the end of a movie (especially if you’re used to watching them with your kids)

  • Explore my city by foot instead of subways and buses

  • Not stressing about the line at the grocery store

  • Spend the day saying, “No worries, I’m in no rush”

  • Renovate without bothering the neighbors

  • Finally finish a party playlist - and a good one too!

  • Find a free bench at the museum

  • Check out the best books at the library

  • Enjoy all the free lanes at the local pool

  • Go to the movies and sit right in the middle

  • Take more time to engage in activism

  • Try all the bikes at Dick’s Sporting Goods

  • Actually get to speak to a Target salesperson

  • Stay in bed - and brag about it - while your partner gets ready for work

  • Try out job shadowing

  • Work on a side hustle

  • Watch the kids

  • Catch up on The Bachelor in the middle of the day

  • Practice patience

  • Tell the kids, “You know, work is great, but so is rest

  • Leave a dish to simmer on low heat for 3 days

  • Blast music without bothering the neighbors

  • Train for a triathlon twice in the same day

  • Run two marathons in a year

  • Make an appointment with the eye doctor without having to wait three weeks - also works for the dermatologist

  • Watch a televised court hearing, live

  • Make all of my friends jealous

Translated by Serena Leilani

Photo: Welcome to the Jungle

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